Newark could become the latest Delaware municipality to restrict the ability to openly carry a gun within city buildings, after city council meets Monday night.
If approved by city council, a new Newark city ordinance would ban guns, ammunition and explosives within municipal buildings. They would also be restricted at off-site buildings where city officials are meeting for that period of time.
Residents could openly carry firearms in city parking lots and the ordinance wouldn’t affect anyone with a valid concealed carry permit.
Anyone violating the rule could face up to a $500 fine and up to a year in prison.
Democratic state legislators representing the Newark area wrote a letter in support of the ordinance last week, noting guns are already prohibited in state and federal government buildings and courthouses.
According to a News Journal report, Delaware City, Elsmere, Lewes, Newport, Seaford and Wilmington have all implemented similar bans.
City council gavels in at 7 p.m. Monday night at the Newark Municipal Building.
